Immortal of the Nine Realms

Yuan Zhuang was originally stationed in the southern region to assist Commander Jue clean up the region. However, they hadn’t settled the matter about the annihilation of the Heavenly Sword Villa. Although Commander Jue had released the news that the culprits had been dealt with, the various sects in the martial world did not believe it. It also didn’t help that they witnessed Commander Jue clear out many small sects the moment he arrived.

The fate of these sects varied; some had their sects entirely disbanded, some had their disciples imprisoned, other sects had many of their disciples executed, and others had their disciples renounced and sent away. This sort of purge had caused a great uproar in the martial scene.

In the end, one of the four major sects in the southern region, the Giant Sword Gate, which was on par with Heavenly Sword Villa and Profound Blade Sect, took action. They gathered various sects and factions in the southern region, then went and demanded an explanation from the Profound Blade Sect.

Now that the Profound Blade Sect was besieged, Commander Jue and his subordinates were trapped inside. Yuan Zhuang was fortunate enough to escape, and he rushed to the capital city to send the news to Fang Chen.

Fang Chen chuckled softly. ”What about the Unfettered Palace? What’s their stance?”

The Unfettered Palace was another of the four major sects, but their disciples rarely descended the mountain. It was quite the mysterious sect in the southern region.

”It seems they haven’t intervened,” said Yuan Zhuang in a low voice.

”What about the local guards and officials? There are imperial officials trapped in the Profound Blade Sect, as well. Have they shown any reaction?” asked Fang Chen further.

”They haven’t intervened either.” Yuan Zhuang furrowed his brow slightly. ”But it looks like they tacitly approve of the Giant Sword Gate’s actions. I suspect that the martial scene in the southern region’s nine counties is much more complicated than we had thought.”

”I thought they would be patient and not jump out so soon. It seems that cleaning up the region touched upon their interests. After all, even a rabbit can bite when they’re backed into a corner.” Fang Chen smiled faintly. ”The resources in the southern region are scarce, and with so many martial sects there, officials who go there and cross their bottomline will get tangled up in a mess. It seems that place has truly become rotten to the core.”

Yuan Zhuang was somewhat shocked. ”Did you expect this to happen, Young Lord?”

Fang Chen didn’t answer but turned to Xu Ge and said, ”Tell the old patriarch and the others that it’s been a long time since the people in the Fang Manor had an outing. That’s why, everyone in the manor will go and have some fun in the southern region.”

Surprise flashed in Xu Ge’s eyes. Everyone in the manor? Did the young lord intend for the Fang Manor to withdraw from the capital city?

”Are we not leaving any maids and servants behind?” whispered Xu Ge.

”Call them over. You’ll be in charge.”

Xu Ge’s eyes flickered. He instantly understood; Fang Chen wanted some of the Grand Xia Hidden Guards to disguise themselves as maids and servants and stay put in the Fang Manor.

Watching their interaction, Li Daoye also understood what Fang Chen was driving at. It was all preparation for what was to come—to free up the space to deal with the Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Fang Chen wanted the rest of the Fang Family to leave the capital city in order to avoid implicating them. This way, none of them could be taken hostage in order to be used against him.

Li Daoye couldn’t help but nod in appreciation, a smile on his face. ”What an excellent plan, Young Lord Fang,” he marveled.

Fang Chen’s next words caught him by surprise, however.

”You’ll stay at the Fang Manor, too.”

”What?!” yelled Li Daoye in fright.

*

Four hours later.

A large group of people from the Fang Manor left the capital city in a grand manner. The citizens of the capital who witnessed the scene were shocked, and they began to speculate in secret. Although the Fang Manor had spread the word that they were going on an outing, seeing so many people leaving together made the nobles in the capital skeptical. However, they had no right to inquire, nor did they dare to.

Inside the carriage, Fang Zhentian let out a long breath, then looked at Fang Chen. ”Kid, the situation in the southern region has been piling up for many years. I couldn’t handle it back then. How do you plan to deal with it? Are you prepared to clean it all up in one fell swoop?”

What was happening was not exactly new; the situation in the southern region had been ongoing for many years. Conflicts for resources were inevitable due to the scarcity of them. That’s why martial sects were dime a dozen. Many military generals in the capital were originally from the southern region and had even spent their youth in one of the four major sects. Over time, the various relationships made the southern region exceptionally complicated.

Sometimes, the decrees from the capital would have a completely different interpretation in the southern region, and the imperial family couldn’t do anything to enforce it, either. They couldn’t send their troops to the region because the situation in the southern region was quite complicated with all the relationship between the sects and many of the empire’s generals. Chaos would break out if anything of the sort were to happen.

Simply speaking, decrees and orders from the capital city had no effect in the southern region, especially when the four major sects were in control. Many officials sent to the southern region would find it difficult to bring about any change, and those who attempted to do so often ended up dead, the murderers never found.

That was because every single individual in the southern region could be a suspect!

Fang Zhentian tried to meddle in affairs of the southern region when he was young, but eventually faced pressure from both the sects there and the imperial court, and he had to leave without making any changes.

”The southern region’s problem lies with those sects. They hold the geographical and manpower advantage. Even if Qi Core Stage martial artists were to intervene, they wouldn’t be afraid,” said Fang Zhentian.

Fang Chen smiled. ”Well, they’re not about to deal with martial artists in the Qi Core Stage. In order to deal with the chaos there, we have to act swiftly. We can’t give them a chance to react.”

”In the military... many people have close ties to the southern region. If you take action against them, there might be chaos in the army. However... you’ve just defeated the Frost Water Empire, elevating Grand Xia to an eighth-tier empire. With such prestige, some people should think twice before making any reckless moves.” Fang Zhentian nodded slightly. ”Right now, they are still in shock. Taking action at this moment is indeed an excellent opportunity. If we give them more time to digest everything that happened, the fear in their hearts will have faded by then. With their temperaments, they might choose to perish together with us.”

Fang Chen began, ”Besides, I have another idea. The ice spring water I brought back some time ago is from the southern region. That spring water comes from a spiritual spring and therefore contains spiritual energy.

“In the cultivation world, if one wants to establish a sect, they need either a spiritual mountain or a spiritual spring to act as the foundation. It’s nearly impossible to move the spring here, but we can certainly move ourselves. We can build a new residence there.”

Spirit Blood Sect cultivators could arrive in the capital city at any time. By establishing a foothold in the southern region, the Fang family could avoid being affected, and they would have a genuine, solid foundation over there. Currently, no member of the Fang family held an official position in the court, so even if they left the capital, it wouldn’t incur significant losses.

Fang Zhentian’s eyes lit up. ”Oh?”

Since stepping onto the path of cultivation, he had become certain that this path would ensure the prosperity of the Fang Family for generations. If there was indeed a spiritual spring in the southern region that could act as a foundation for them, then the descendants of the Fang Family would be able to strengthen their talent for cultivation!

In addition, cultivators needed resources to support their cultivation. Although a spiritual spring couldn’t compare to spirit stones in terms of simplicity and ease of use, its abundance made up for it.

”The little lass Zhixue can already sense spiritual energy. She should be able to condense her immortal vein soon. When she becomes a cultivator, you won’t be as burdened as before. In the future, you can explore the vast world more freely.” Fang Zhentian sighed.

”That’s a good thing,” Fang Chen smiled and nodded. During this period, Fang Zixue had rarely left the house and interacted with martial artists, which she used to do a lot.

Day and night, she focused on comprehending the mysteries of the Purple Qi Manual, clearly showing a greater attraction to the path of cultivation than to the path of martial arts.

Fang Canghai, Fang Cangyou, and the others had also gained insights of their own. Although their aptitudes were mediocre, reaching third or fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm was sufficient for them. Cultivation wasn’t an easy path to begin with. Fang Chen did not dare to expect the Fang Family to become a major cultivation clan in the future. However, producing dozens of cultivators should not be difficult.